Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Here is my latest peacock. He will eventually be sewn into a pinkeep but I know I won't get the chance to take out my sewing machine for at least a week and I couldn't wait to show him off :) I used one of the new colors from Gentle Arts. If you haven't tried them yet, they're beautiful!!! It didn't show up so well in the picture but this particular thread is a beautiful shade of pale green The linen is Newcastle Antique White that I stained. The whole piece is very delicate, the colors subtle and aged. I can't wait to get him finished into the pinkeep but . . .

It's going to be busy around here. My oldest daugther is turning 13 in a week. 13!!! I can't believe it. She's been reminding us for over a month now (as if we needed reminding). My husband's birthday is the day before hers; though he's not quite as thrilled as she is. I have one person absolutely ecstatic and another (not so quietly) miserable. Needless to say there will be a lot of cupcakes and balloons in our house in the coming week and if I'm absent from blogging for awhile know that I am buried in wrapping paper and cake batter!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I've just checked the weather forecast and it's official. We are expecting 1-2 inches of snow. Hooray!!! I know I know the rest of the country is yearning for Spring, meanwhile I applaud Winter's last breath. Where we live in Maryland it is absolutely unheard of to have snowfall this time of year. It's virtually unheard of to have much snow at all, any time of the year. I believe someone up there is looking out for me, giving me one last glimpse of snow before Spring and I will enjoy every last flake.

I've started work on yet another peacock. I meant to take a picture before I started stitching; it always looks so much neater. Now all of you get to see the mess I make of things while I'm stitching. I take such poor care of them it's amazing my threads survive from one project to the next. I'm still fiddling around with the colors. I had a specific color in mind when I designed this but now I'm not entirely sure it shows up on the linen . . . we'll see what we shall see. I'll be sharing the finished piece (fingers crossed) next week. Until then I hope all of you enjoy your weekend no matter what the weatherman brings your way.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I've seen patterns such as this at prim shows and antique marts and just had to make one of my own. It's the lowercase version of an alphabet I designed years ago to put into samplers or use as initials. The whole project was so blessedly simple; just what I needed while waiting for my wool to arrive in the mail. I even stitched it on 28ct linen which is unusual for me. I'm surprised I even had any in my stash. This one I aged with much better success than my last attempt (at least to my eyes) and it makes the perfect little prim pincushion. I finished it days ago but finally got it sewn together today. The pattern is oh so simple but I put it up as a free pattern anyway. The alphabet can be used for so many things; I'd love to see what you ladies come up with. I hope you enjoy!!!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

As a matter of happenstance I found myself with free time this morning. Hubbie and I had planned to do some quick shopping and run a few errands but Mina woke early this morning and as a result took her morning nap as soon as we dropped the boys off at school. We decided to wait until she woke up before heading out. Having gotten cleaning and laundry done the day before in preparation for shopping there was nothing left for me to do but play with wool. I have to say it was quite a pleasant and relaxing couple of hours.

There is typically a TV on most hours of the day at our house; Hubbie likes listening to the news. I find that depressing so instead I put on Pandora and listened to some Jazz/Swing. I have no idea what station it was; I just typed "In the Mood" into the search box and picked the first station on the list. Dave sat on one end of our dining room table doing taxes. Maybe it wasn't as relaxing a morning for him as it was me? He is a statistical analysis by trade though and he does love mucking about with his numbers. I sat opposite him and hooked wool. This is a little of what I've come up with so far . . . it's very primitive. None of my loops are the same height, my wool is fraying a bit, the design is simple as I had none in mind . . . but I'm liking it so far. I read somewhere that you're supposed to keep your tails and cut them later. When later? They're beginning to get in the way. Perhaps I'll trim them up just a bit so they're not hanging over where I have to hook next. It looks a bit messy now, but I suppose it neatens up as I go.

So that was our morning. Occasionally Dave would look up from his laptop and ask me a question. Doing the day to day books for the household is my job so he would want to know about this bill or that expense. For the most part we sat in silence just enjoying the peace and quiet. These moments are few and far between in our house :) Before too long Mina woke up and the day truly began. Only an hour now before it's time to go pick up the kids. But this morning was a wonderful (if unexpected) respite that will hopefully carry me through the rest of the day. I'm hoping you ladies can find a quiet moment as well tucked somewhere into your day.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The winner of the giveaway is Teri from Dixie Sampler Designs. I have to say I am very luck to have met this woman (albeit through the internet only) and I would like to think I have come to be able to call her a friend. She recently finished my French Letters Bluebird and I love the way it came out. She stitched it on a larger count, 28 count I believe she said, which made it harder to finish into the little bluebird. I think he's precious and well worth a trip to her blog to see.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway, left me a comment or posted about it in their blog. I had a lot of fun with it and can't wait to do it again. I'm thinking Easter isn't too soon, is it?

Last week I ordered some wool strips. I saw them listed on Etsy and simply had to have them. Aren't the colors just perfect for Spring? I purchased several months ago some monk's cloth and an inexpensive hook; I just never got around to actually working on anything. I think these wooly worms are just what I need to finally get started. I have no design in mind but the colors look so lovely together I think any arrangement would look great. Any suggestions for someone who has never put wool to hook before?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I finally finished my Spring Peacock Needle Book and Pincushion. I aged these pieces a little more than I usually do. To be honest I'm not entirely sure I like it but you never know, it could grow on me after a few days. I just love the look of extreme prims but when I try it I'm never happy with the results. I suppose I'll eventually get the hang of it.

My attempts at aging aside the design is very sweet and I love it. The colors really were a joy to stitch with; they're such lovely colors. The set is a little touch of Spring . . . A pretty little peacock, a single bloom, and a basket of eggs. A sweet little flower tree . . . The wool tulips on the inside are just perfect (at least in my opinion) and they were so much fun to applique. I've told myself that there are two to of them to help organize my needles. Say two different sized cross stitch needles, or cross stitch needles and applique needles. Really I just couldn't decide which color wool to use. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed doing it and just those two little tulips weren't nearly enough for me. Time to take out the wool stash and start planning another project. Can someone have too many projects going at once?

The fabrics were just a perfect compliment as well. I purchase them from Nauvoo Quilt Shop on Etsy. Julie is so sweet and she has the most lovely reproduction fabrics. Her listings are all for half yards but since I never need that much fabric for any one project she's so sweet and puts together listings for me of fat quarters of the materials I want. She has certainly helped to grow my fabric stash!!! If you like the design and want the same fabrics she still has them listed. If you'd like the purchase the pattern just e-mail me at appleseedprim@yahoo.com.

An e-pattern is $6.00 and a printed pattern is $7.50 which includes the shipping costs. The pattern includes the finishing instructions for the needle book including the template for the wool tulips. I actually think when I wrote out the finishing instructions I said I did a light tea stain. Hmmm . . . well whenever you create something you have to trust your instincts and definitely experiment.

I think I'm going to take a little break from cross stitch. I do want to do some applique or maybe rug hooking (working with wool is so gratifying) or maybe even back to the punch needle (again). At any rate, I'll be sure to share with you ladies.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. This really is such a busy time of year for me. Spring is the time of birth for so many things including most members of my family :) Birthday season in our house starts on January 10th and continues on from that date. February 12th, March 1st, April 5th and 6th . . . For that time my house is never without a bouquet of helium balloons in every color of the rainbow, I make upwards of twelve dozen (that's a gross) of cupcakes, I am forever finding pieces of wrapping paper stuck with tape to my clothing, and there is an almost constant stream of family, friends, and well wishers through our door. On top of that is Spring cleaning, Easter, the start of the Spring soccer session and rehearsels for the Summer ballet recital. Thank goodness my two youngest are too young for after school activities; short of cloning myself I have no idea what I will do when they're no longer too young.

During my "off" days I am working on my punch needle, wool applique and the Spring Peacock. I'm also hoping to start work on a rag quilt and some make-do's. I don't think I have enough "off" days. Most days it's nice to have a project you can pick up for a moment or two and then leave for hours at a time. This past weekend, in between three soccer matches on a single day (10am, 1pm and 5pm) I covered my first paper mache box. Believe it or not this is one craft I have never attempted before. I have purchased painted and fabric covered boxes in the past but I thought I could give it a try. One can never have too many boxes . . .

I assure you the Spring Peacock pin cushion and needlebook will be finished this week along with my mud room and boiler room being cleaned of Winter clutter. Sring can be a wonderful time of year, but I can do with a little less hustle and bustle, and a little more sitting and stitching.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I'm still working on my punchneedle. For something that sounds so easy I can't figure out why I have such difficulty with it. *sigh* At any rate I've decided to distract myself with something I find a little less challenging. I've begun work on my Spring Peacock. So many people enjoyed my Wynter Peacock I'm looking forward to releasing this pattern. I was originally looking for a 1950's reproduction fabric to coordinate. The design is in pink and blue-ish green which so much reminds me of that time period. Instead I found this Civil War era fabric and it's perfect. I've been wanting to work with GA Lexington Green for awhile now; I adore the color. I used GA Roasted Marshmallow in my butterfly and it's now my new favorite color. And who doesn't like pink? I think I'll really enjoy stitching with these shades. I've already decided to finish the patterns into a sewing book and pincushion. Hopefully stitching this will make me comfortable with saying goodbye to Winter and more welcoming of the arrival of Spring.

Don't forget about my giveaway; antique linens that are also a wonderful way to welcome Spring.

Ideal Malloy Sampler

Summer Swan

Hollow Wreath

Bette 1709

Apple Tree

Perninah Frye Sampler

pattern for purchase

Mercy Sampler

pattern for purchase

Euphemia Myles Sampler

pattern for purchase

Cora Lipton's Marking Sampler

pattern for purchase

Blest Art

pattern for purchase

a word about copyright

All original designs are copyrighted by Appleseed Prim. All free patterns and patterns for purchase may be reproduced for personal use or for sale/resale, just please give credit to the designer. All photos on this website can be used, just again reference my site when posting them. Please don't copy any of the designs. If you would like to purchase one just let me know.

E-Mail Me . . .

I'm a SAHM to four beautifully exasperating children and married to a man who can either be my best friend or worst enemy (depending on my mood). The life of a mother must be constantly interruptable and I wouldn't have it any other way. But in those few moments between interruptions (also known as family) I love making sweet little things that remind me I can do more than change a diaper or sweep up cereal. I can't imagine that anyone else would be interested in what I have to say let alone the things I make but I thought I could share the things I know and help someone else create their own sweet little things.